Go on a course: selling food safely

If you think food hygiene is common sense - washing hands and not storing cream cakes next to pork chops - you're in for a surprise. Anyone involved in selling food, from running a stall at a fête to catering, even keen home cooks, should attend a course.

 

The first of many tips I learned on my one-day Foundation Certificate in Food Hygiene, run by food safety consultants STS Solutions, was that salmonella is just one of many enemies you will meet if hygiene isn't up to scratch. Clostridium, listeria, campylobacter and E. coli will all lead to a visit from environmental health officers.

 

As to handwashing, it's not so simple. I thought my hygiene practices were sound, but when we were asked to wash our hands and then place them under an ultra-violet light to show bacteria, I was ashamed to see mine glow purple all over - and I had completely missed my thumbs. This is a common failing, says Maureen Wisdom, a trainer with STS. "People tend just to rub their palms together when they wash their hands," she says. "They stick their thumbs in the air and forget about the backs of their hands and the creases between their fingers." Most of us rinse under the tap for just two or three seconds, but if you're serious about cleanliness, you need to spend 15 or 20 seconds with soap and water.

 

We should all pay attention to date coding, too. We rely on our eyes and noses, and allow a little extra time past the use-by date. "Harmful bacteria don't have any smell or taste and you can't see them," Maureen warns. "What you notice when things go off is the food spoiling, but the bacteria can be there before that." I also discovered that most of our fridges are too warm - keep thermostats at 5 to 8°C - and that eggs should be refrigerated as the shells can be contaminated and it's safer to keep them cool (bring them up to room temperature just before using). Thankfully, I passed the multiple choice exam at the end of the day, so I can now cater confidently.

 

 

Food hygiene courses are held nationwide; look for one approved by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH). For details, call 01252 728300 or visit www.sts-solutions.com.

 

---

 

Click here for the full Country Living course directory